By: Jan Marcus Montevirgen
Aurora has secured its spot as the Philippines’ second representative in the M6 World Championship, defeating the reigning world champions, Falcons AP.Bren, with a thrilling 4-2 victory in the MPL Philippines Season 14 Lower Bracket Finals on Saturday at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati.
Despite being a newly formed team in the league, Aurora proved its worth as a “superteam” by making a remarkable comeback in the lower bracket, first defeating Blacklist International 3-0 just a day earlier before toppling FCAP.
Aurora will now face Fnatic ONIC Philippines in the grand finals, set to take place in a best-of-seven series on Sunday at 5:00 PM.
Renejay “Renejay” Barcarse (Mathilda) stood out in the decisive Game 6, providing crucial support for his team during teamfights. He finished the match in just 14 minutes and 15 seconds, boasting a KDA of two kills, one death, and 12 assists.
“Yung totoo, hindi pa totally sobrang saya. Ilang beses na naming naabot yung M-series pero yung champion, lalo na ako, personally, ako na head coach ng isang team na mag-champion sa MPL [ay] hindi ko pa nagagawa,” said head coach Aniel “Master the Basics” Jiandani during the post-match interview.
“Nag-champion lang ako noong Assistant Coach pa ako. Pero hindi naman nagma-matter kung ano yung naging role ko kase ramdam ko ngayon na kahit ako yung head coach hindi ko magagawa lahat ‘yon kung wala yung lahat ng mga kasama ko,” he continued.
Aurora stumbled at the start of the match, as Angelo “Pheww” Arcangel’s Lou Yi was a formidable force, finishing with five kills, one death, and 15 assists.
However, Aurora bounced back, winning three consecutive games with standout performances from Renejay (Mathilda), Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo (Aurora), and Edward (Edith), who all claimed MVP honors, leading Aurora to match point.
Refusing to back down, Michael “KyleTzy” Samson’s Suyou saved his team from elimination in Game 5, securing the Lord at the 17-minute and 45-second mark, which led to a wipeout of Aurora and ended the game shortly after.
This victory marked Jonard “Demonkite” Caranto and Jan “Domeng” Del Mundo’s first appearance in the M-Series.
